Ulema in KP pledge support to polio eradication efforts
KP health minister emphasizes crucial role of religious scholars in creating awareness among community about crippling disease.
M. Irshadullah Khan
PESHAWAR: The Department of Auqaf, Hajj and Religious Affairs organized the first-ever Ulema conference in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The conference was hosted by the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) with the support of UNICEF. The conference aimed to seek the endorsement of prominent religious scholars for polio vaccination and emphasize its alignment with Islamic principles of community well-being and health.
Minister for Health Syed Qasim Ali Shah and Minister for Auqaf, Hajj and Religious Affairs Sahibzada Muhammad Adnan Qadri attended the conference as special guests.
Renowned scholars from different sects declared their complete and unwavering support for immunization and polio vaccination, pledging to play a role in dispelling myths and misconceptions about polio vaccination at the community level.
The health minister emphasized the crucial role of religious scholars in creating awareness among the community and stressed that they should come forward to create a favorable environment for polio vaccination.
Religious scholars signed a joint declaration endorsing that polio vaccines contain no harmful ingredients and that its use is fully permissible under Islamic principles to protect individuals from the debilitating disease of polio.
Minister for Religious Affairs along with prominent religious scholars inaugurated the upcoming Sub-National Immunization Days (SNIDs) campaign, set to be launched from September 9th.
During the first phase of the campaign, polio drops will be administered to approximately 5.75 million children in 27 districts of the province. In the second phase, 672,000 children will be vaccinated against polio in three districts.
Around 50,000 security personnel have been deployed in the target areas to ensure foolproof security of the polio teams.
